Mixed Signals
by foreverstartsrightnow
Summary: Emma and Mary Margaret's new house guest derails Emma's plans to see August, so they're forced to get creative… until someone accidentally finds them out. Takes place during Red Handed. Established Emma/August. One-shot.


**Pairings:** Emma/August, Emma/Snow, Emma/Ruby

**Rating: **M (dirty talk, masturbation)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing related to Once Upon a Time.

**A/N: **This kind of came out of nowhere... I wanted to try writing a fic with phone sex and this is what happened. And as always, thanks to my wife snarkysweetness for the encouragement!

* * *

Emma sat at her desk feeling utterly deflated. She knew David was telling the truth about the records, but without an explanation for the 8 minutes his phone was connected to Kathryn's, he was looking like the prime suspect.

_No. Not suspect_, she had to remind herself. _There still hasn't been a crime_.

_Yet._

Shaking the thought from her head, Emma realized there was no point in worrying about something that wasn't even a problem and picked up her phone. After flipping to the empty call log, she sighed and wondered what August was up to. Probably having dinner at Granny's, without her. She'd be waiting impatiently for him to summon her so she could disappear and slip into his bed for a few uninterrupted hours of bliss. They were lucky her roommate was such a heavy sleeper; otherwise sneaking out of the apartment to meet him at all hours of the night would be nearly impossible and their secret trysts much more difficult to come by.

Emma bit her lip and thought of the last time they'd been together; body weight pressing her into the mattress, rough hands skimming the skin across her back, the scratch of stubble between her thighs…

She shook her head again and cursed, shuffling the records into a manila folder and tossing them on the corner of the desk. Maybe she could surprise him by showing up at the diner, but Granny was one of the meddlesome people in the entire town (it was a miracle she hadn't caught them at the inn) and the last thing they needed was her suspicions to be aroused.

No, she'd have to wait. But with August, the wait was never long. With a small grin, Emma pulled on her jacket, flicked off the lights, and locked the door.

The sounds from the Miner's Day festival had all but died out and Emma welcomed the quiet street when seemingly out of nowhere, Mary Margaret appeared behind her.

"Is he okay? David?"

Emma looked back. "Oh, yeah. He's a little shaken up but he's headed home. He's fine."

They walked together toward the apartment as Mary Margaret anxiously questioned her about the case. When it became clear that her roommate just wasn't getting it, she stopped and turned to face her. Emma felt bad for the woman, she really did. Until Kathryn showed up or David could provide a solid alibi, things would be looking pretty bad for both of them. She believed Mary Margaret when she said they were no longer seeing each other, but just _knowing_ that neither of them were lying wouldn't exactly be admissible evidence in court.

Emma's focus fell on two figures standing under a streetlamp across the street. As much as she just wanted to get home and unwind while waiting for August's call, all her internal sirens went off as she saw that rake, Dr. Whale, preying on Ruby.

Mary Margaret seemed to have the same intuition and together they approached the pair with caution. After a brief confrontation, the doctor relented and left, crossing the street quickly like a dog caught with his nose where it didn't belong. Emma knew Ruby could hold her own with men, but saw the girl waver after explaining her current predicament. Henry's words about not being able to leave town rang in Emma's ears as she heard Ruby's plan to do just that, and on top of which, she knew there was no public transportation out of town, especially at this time of night.

That was when Mary Margaret spoke up.

"Hey, if you need a place to figure things out, you could always come home with us."

It wouldn't be the first night Ruby spent on their couch; Emma came home on Valentine's Day to a distraught Mary Margaret desperately cleaning the kitchen floor while Ruby lay in a heap at the base of the toilet. And not only was the girl a sloppy drunk, but she was quite possibly the lightest sleeper Emma had ever known.

She looked apprehensively toward her roommate. "Yeah, uh. Yeah. Just for a little while."

_Shit. There goes spending the night with August._

Emma couldn't be mad at Ruby, of course not. Having her in their home was certainly better than leaving her out in the cold, faring against the lechers of the town. Still, after helping her settle in on the couch, Emma all but stomped up the loft stairs and threw herself on the bed after tossing he black turtleneck haplessly to the floor. She looked at her phone again anxiously, waiting for the call that would come at any minute. Groaning as she pressed her face into the pillow, she lamented her heightened libido, but it wasn't as if she could turn off the way August made her feel, and she tried to assure herself that there would be time for a romp later.

The phone buzzed in her clenched hand and Emma hesitated before answering. After two rings, she flipped it open and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" Emma didn't bother hiding her dejection; she was downright miserable and didn't care if August knew it.

"Hey. Everything ok?"

"Not exactly. I had a terrible day, then Ruby quit her job and we had to save her from Dr. Whale so she's sleeping on our couch… indefinitely. Needless to say, I won't be able to make it over there tonight without the entire town finding out by morning."

August let out a defeated breath on the other end. "I'm afraid I may have had something to do with that."

"Oh? Why would that be?" Emma rolled onto her back and absent-mindedly massaged the tips of her fingers with her thumb.

"Well I told her about Nepal and how I never stay in one place for very long, then Granny yelled at her for flirting with me, they got in a fight and she stormed out."

Something akin to jealousy flared up in her gut. "And… were you flirting back?"

She could hear his familiar muted chuckle. "Really, Emma, do you think I'd be asking you into my bed every night if I was?"

"Maybe… maybe not. Can't be too sure these days."

"Well believe me when I tell you, you're the only girl I'm interested in."

Emma couldn't help but smile. "Good."

"So." August let out a long sigh. "What are we going to do about our little dilemma?"

Emitting a small whine, she was suddenly brought back to the reality of not being able to be with him and clenched her eyes shut. "There's nothing _to_ do about it. I can't leave. And you can't come here. So I guess tonight's a bust."

The line was silent for a long moment. "It doesn't _have_ to be a bust."

"What? August, I just told you I can't leave."

"I'm not asking you to."

She let out an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes. "Okay… then what exactly are you suggesting?"

"I'm a writer, Emma. I'm very good with words. You should know this by now."

It took her a few seconds to understand what he was implying, but when the realization dawned on her, she was incredulous. "What? No. Uh-uh. That's where I draw the line."

"Why not?" His blatantly amused tone only fueled her aversion.

"No!" She exclaimed in a hushed voice and propped herself up on an elbow. "No phone sex, it's weird."

"Come on, just trust me. I promise it will be fun and I _know_ you need to blow off some steam."

This was absolutely absurd. Emma was not the type of girl to engage in something like this and she certainly wasn't keen to begin now. Still, she did find August's voice incredibly sexy, and even if being with him physically wasn't an option, maybe trying something new wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…

"Ugh. Fine. We can try. But don't be too weird about it."

"I promise, nothing too weird." His voice dropped an octave as he continued, "Now put some music on and tell me what you're wearing."

An unexpected chill went through Emma's spine at the command and she crossed her room to turn on the CD player. "I'm wearing a black tank top, jeans, a black bra and…" she peeked under her waistband with a grin to confirm the lacy underwear she'd chosen that morning in anticipation of the night they'd planned to spend together, "your favorite panties."

August let out a small grunt of approval. "Take off your jeans and bra and lay down."

Putting her phone down on the bed, she removed the indicated articles of clothing and lay down. Her stomach fluttered in nervous anticipation, like it had the first night they spent together all those weeks ago. She brought the phone back to her ear with her left hand. "Ok, now what?"

"Now close your eyes and imagine I'm on top of you."

It wasn't difficult for her as she'd been thinking about it all day, but hearing him narrate, despite how deep and sexy his voice was, made her feel completely silly.

"I run my hands up your arms and I start kissing you softly, then deeper, more consuming…"

Emma let out a snort. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry… I just… I don't know if I can do this."

"Come on, Emma. It's not gonna work if you're not into it."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I've… I've never done this before."

"Just relax and listen," he persuaded soothingly. "And don't be afraid to get verbal."

"Okay, start over." She closed her eyes and bit her lip as August repeated his intro. She envisioned his warm body hovering over her and his lips kissing her greedily. But what sent her over the edge was when her flesh ignited as she imagined his fingers ghosting up across her shoulders and collarbone.

"I start to kiss down your jaw, nipping your skin as I progress, and slip a hand around the back of your neck to pull your throat to me."

Emma sucked in a breath and arched her back slightly, pressing her head back into the pillow as her pulse increased with the sound of his voice.

"My free hand slides down to your stomach and probes underneath the hem of your tank top, working its way slowly back up to brush the underside of your breast as I lavish that area of your neck that makes you squirm, the one right under your ear."

Moaning as he spoke, she began to mimic his movements with her own hand, and let out a soft gasp as he described pinching her nipple.

"August…" she breathed heavily into the receiver, "are you touching yourself?"

"No. Do you want me to?"

"Not yet. Tell me what you're wearing."

August chuckled. "Just my boxer-briefs."

"Ok. Keep talking."

She could hear him smirk on the other end.

"I start to work my way down your body with my mouth, pausing to lift up your shirt so I can tease and stroke your bare skin along the way."

Sighing as she imagined running her hands up and down the toned muscles of his back and shoulders, she became frustrated that she couldn't actually do it. Instead she refocused her attention on his voice and fell deeper into the tale he wove.

"Eventually I'm between your knees, kissing the fabric of those sexy panties."

She rolled her hips and trailed her fingers lightly on the insides of her thighs before pressed them against the lacy material and released a small noise as she stroked her aching core. "God, August, I want you so bad."

"I know. I want you, too."

"Mmm tell me what else you're gonna do to me."

"Well first I'll remove your panties with my teeth, and then I'll torture you a bit by trailing my fingers tantalizingly up the backs of your legs…"

Emma whimpered and shifted uncomfortably, bringing her knees up and imagining August's rough fingers and soft lips on her skin.

"…and when you feel like you can't bear it any longer, I'll slip my tongue inside your hot cunt and drink every inch of you in."

She let out a strained noise as she slipped her hand beneath the elastic, dipping her fingers into her folds. "I wish you could feel how wet I am," moaned Emma.

It was his turn to make a guttural sound and Emma found greater delight in hearing him lose himself in the moment than she ever expected.

"Damn, you little minx." It took him another moment to fully regain his composure before continuing. "I crawl back up and kiss you hard as my hands grip your body. I start to fuck you, slowly at first, because I want you to feel every inch of me."

She began to work her hand in circles and sighed as she picked up speed with August's dictation. The strain in his own voice increased as he pumped himself in time with her; pausing every so often to curse and growl after every time she made a particular throaty moan. The thought that just the vocalization of her pleasure alone could get him close to coming was almost more than Emma could take, and she closed in on release as August continued to describe every possible way in which he wanted to take her.

"I want you to come with me, Emma…"

"Tell me when and I will…"

For a few moments, the only noises on the line were his heavy breath and the faraway sound of skin against skin.

"Now."

With a soft cry, Emma bucked her hips up into nothing as she let herself go. Her free hand twisted in the bed sheets while her phone fell from it perch on her shoulder. After riding out the wave of pleasure, she felt around for the phone and brought it back to her ear, humming into the receiver.

August was still catching his breath. "So what'd you think?"

"Hmm… it wasn't exactly ideal, but I'd say it went well enough."

An abrupt knock at the door nearly caused Emma to throw the device across the room, but instead she seized it to her chest and shot up.

"Emma?" Ruby poked her head into the room.

"Ruby! What's up?" She scrambled to cover herself with a blanket.

"I just… I heard noises and I wanted to make sure everything was okay…"

"Yeah, everything's fine." Emma tried to smooth down the back of her hair with her free hand and adjusted the blanket.

Ruby must have immediately noticed Emma's flushed cheeks and her eyes widened as a grin broke out across her face. "Who's on the phone, Emma?"

"What? No one."

"Uh-huh. Who is it?"

"Nothing! It's no one." Emma looked up at her pleadingly.

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. "You won't be able to hide him from me forever."

At this point, Emma found herself completely exasperated. "Please, Ruby! Can we not do this?"

The girl quirked her head to the side and shot Emma a sly grin. "If you want to go meet your secret boyfriend, I promise I won't tell Mary Margaret."

Speechless, Emma's brain went into overdrive trying to find a way around this. But before she could fully process the repercussions of the situation, she was snapped out of her trance by August's metallic voice shouting her name.

"I… hold on." She turned and brought the phone to her ear. "_What?_"

"You should take her up on her offer. I'll be ready to go again by the time you get here."

"Are you _serious_?"

"Yeah. I am. Ruby's true to her word, she won't tell anyone."

She bit her lip and glanced over at Ruby standing in her doorway with the most positively delighted look on her face. Reeling at the current state of her life, Emma pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She couldn't believe what she was about to say, but it was no secret that their little game had hardly slaked her desire.

"Okay, I'll be there in 10 minutes." She snapped the phone shut and threw back the blanket, reaching for her jeans.

Ruby clapped her hands excitedly and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "Ok, you have to tell me who it is. Wait, no, let me guess. Is it Billy? Or maybe that cute guy from the bakery?"

Emma glared up at her as she buttoned her fly and debated whether or not to put her bra back on. With a shrug, she decided against it and fumbled with her sweater.

"Hmm… what about August?"

Emma felt her face grow warm again as she shuffled around her dresser looking for clothes for the next day. She should have known Ruby would figure it out the moment she started guessing, but having someone know for sure made Emma's stomach flip.

"It _is_ August! I knew it! The way he looks at you in the diner, I'm surprised the entire town hasn't figured it out."

The warmth in her face intensified and she fought a smile forming at the edge of her lips. "Well, let's keep it that way, okay?" She hung her head and moved to leave her room, but Ruby blocked the way.

"Really… I won't tell anyone."

Emma looked up to study her face and realized she was telling the truth. "Thank you," she said with a sigh, "I really need this."

"It's the least I can do," affirmed the girl with a strangely sad smile.

"Hey, how about you come by the station tomorrow? You can hang out with Henry and do some job hunting."

"Really?"

Emma nodded.

"Sounds great! I'll be there."

After pulling on her coat, she bid Ruby farewell and slipped out the door. The nerves she felt over someone knowing her secret were now nothing compared to the giddy feeling at being able to see August. And when he pulled her hungrily into his room after opening the door wearing naught but his birthday suit and a cheeky smirk, Emma knew she'd made the right decision.


End file.
